Caligo
by Amyskat
Summary: After barely surviving her final encounter with the Red Lotus, Korra is consumed by darkness. Will her friends and family be able to pull her out of it?
1. Nothing to Talk About

**A/N: Happy Pride! Here's the first chapter of a fun little project I've been writing for a few weeks now. Haven't posted anything for this fandom here yet but why not give it a shot?**

**\- D.**

* * *

_For just a moment, no one moved a muscle. Bolin's joke still hung in the air as all eyes returned to their Avatar's broken form in their midst. Tonraq's body was still wrapped around her torso, clearly oblivious to Zaheer's muffled protests or anything else that was going on around him. Korra was slightly shaken by her father's silent sobs every now and then, but otherwise remained motionless._

_Their audience's collective daze was finally broken when Lin's portable radio buzzed to life and a woman's distorted voice cut through the silence like a sharp blade. Several people flinched at the noise and Bolin actually jumped back into a fighting stance until Opal placed a gentle hand on his arm. His eyes found first his girlfriend's and then spotted Lin waving Su over to talk to the other person on the line. Nevertheless, he still seemed somewhat on edge when he dropped into a slightly more relaxed pose._

_Despite the situation, despite the tension and anxiety that had been almost unbearable, people gradually started to unfreeze. Several air nomads wandered off a bit in little groups, seemingly to give the Avatar some space. Quiet conversations were picked up all around them. Meanwhile, Kya exchanged a meaningful look with her younger brother and then limped over to the small group in the middle of the crater that Korra had created when she'd taken out Zaheer. Mako and Asami were still rooted to the sport next to Tonraq and the airbender kids had all gathered around Korra as well, asking her father if she was okay. The poor guy looked up at three little faces filled with worry and had to swallow hard as he searched for words._

_"Hey, guys," Kya piped up from behind them, hiding a wince as she put weight on her right leg. She forced a smile for them. "Would you mind checking on your uncle Bumi? He looks like he could use some help over there."_

_She pointed over to Tenzin who was evidently struggling to support his brother's weight. Pema was right next to them, smiling at her children as she held their infant brother in her arms. Jinora exchanged a glance with Asami and Mako next to her and, after a brief nod from both of them, grabbed her little brother's hand._

_"Come on, Meelo," she urged him gently. "Let's give Korra some space."_

_Kya watched Ikki reluctantly follow her siblings, clearly overwhelmed by the whole situation. A lot of people these kids loved had gotten hurt that day. After another moment, the waterbender seemed to remember the task at hand and, not without some difficulty, knelt in front of Tonraq._

_"Korra?" she asked softly, her voice a lot raspier than usual. "Honey, can you hear me?"_

_Tonraq carefully shifted her in his embrace and revealed Korra's bruised face again. To everyone's surprise, her eyes instantly fluttered open before they focused on her dad once again. Only Kya's hand brushing a strand of hair out of her sweaty face made Korra's eyes settle on her instead._

_"Hey," is all she managed but it brought a warm smile on the older woman's battered face._

_As Kya turned her attention to the avatar, Mako rested a comforting hand on Asami's shoulder. Startled, her head whipped around to him, taking her eyes off the scene in front of her for the first time. A strange wave of comfort hit her as she saw her own worry reflected in his eyes. Without another word, he took a small step closer and wrapped the engineer in a tight embrace. It was hard to tell whether he sought the connection for her sake or his own at this point. But Korra was alive and safe. That's all that mattered._

_"Asami?"_

_The two friends broke apart again and met Kya's questioning gaze. She was kneeling at the Avatar's legs now, fingers running over the shackles that were still wrapped tightly around the girl's ankles. "Could you please remove these for me?"_

_Feeling grateful to make herself useful, Asami nodded and started rummaging around in her pockets to grab the hair clip she had used earlier to free the airbenders. As she knelt next to Kya and got to work, she tried hard not to look at the plethora of bruises on her friend's limbs. Picking the lock of the first shackle, she revealed a nasty bruise already forming on the skin beneath it. The other ankle had actually been cut pretty badly during the fight. Biting her lip, the young engineer swiftly moved around Kya – who went to work right away, the water beneath her hands already glowing brightly against her patient's legs – and gently lifted Korra's left arm to remove the remaining two shackles. Korra winced as soon as she did so, which caused Asami to instantly drop her wrist again._

_"I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized, lifting her hands in defense. "I didn't mean to hurt you."_

_She glanced up at Korra's face, worried she'd done something to cause the avatar even more pain. Tonraq was shifting uneasily next to them, eyes never leaving his daughter's face. But Korra just weakly shook her head at both of them._

_"No, 's okay," she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. "Arm's just a bit sore."_

_Asami hesitated. She briefly exchanged a look with Mako, who had moved a little closer as well, still silently observing with that same worried expression he'd worn this entire time. But her focus shifted back to the younger girl in an instant. Meeting exhausted blue eyes with her own, Asami picked up the hair clip she'd accidentally dropped._

_"Do you want me to remove these?" she asked her friend, already touching her wrist again because she could see the shackles had already done more than enough damage._

_Korra simply nodded in response and then turned to hide her face in her dad's arm. Asami glance up at Tonraq and he just gestured for her to go on. So she did. In no time, the young engineer was able to toss the remaining shackles and chains aside. She was about to carefully drop Korra's arm again when a shaky hand reached up to clumsily hold onto hers. Without hesitation, Asami wrapped her other hand around Korra's and received a weak, but meaningful squeeze in return. The Avatar was still hiding her face but the gesture conveyed more than she was able to express in words. Korra's other hand searched for and then found her father's as well, seeking comfort. Just a few seconds later, Asami placed the now limb hand back on the ground._

_She got up from her position to give Kya more space to work and found herself standing next to Su. The matriarch had abandoned her discussion with her sister and was studying the scene, worry etched on her features. She noticed Korra's still form. "Passed out again, huh?"_

_Asami nodded. "Maybe it's best that way."_

_Su seemed to ponder that statement for a moment and then apparently reached the same conclusion as she watched Kya work. Shaking her head, she then crossed her arms in front of her chest and cleared her voice. Both Kya and Tonraq glanced up at her._

_"Kuvira should arrive soon with reinforcements from Zaofu," she let them all know, eyes wandering to Korra's legs. They'd all seen her hit the ground with full-force on more than one instance during the fight. No one dared to say anything about it but the deep lines of worry on Kya's face didn't exactly lift anyone's spirits. It had looked pretty bad, after all, and the Avatar State unfortunately did not grant Korra immunity to serious, long-term injuries._

_After what seemed like forever, Kya finally rose from her kneeling position on the ground and stored the water she'd used back into a pouch on her belt. She looked troubled and it made them all uneasy._

_"Kya?" Tenzin asked hesitantly as he limped over with the rest of his family. The man looked like he was about ready to pass out himself, but Pema tried her best to somewhat steady him without dropping little Rohan. They'd left Bumi resting against a boulder that Bolin had created for them, just a few feet away. Several air acolytes were tending to him to the best of their abilities. It really had been a long day for everyone involved._

_"I'm sorry, I can't do much for her right now," Kya sighed, wrapping a hand around her midsection. "Healing requires a lot of energy."_

_Tenzin's features softened a little as he was reminded of the numerous fights his entire family had survived today. He reached out to put a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. She smiled sadly._

_"But…is Korra gonna be okay?" Meelo poked his head out from behind his mother's robes, looking from Kya to Korra and back. Pema instantly rested a reassuring hand on his head and pressed him closer into her side._

_"I hope so, sweetie," Kya replied and it clearly wasn't the answer the young boy had been hoping for. The waterbender seemed hesitant to further crush his hopes as she turned to Tenzin again. "Her legs, her back, the poison...it's hard to tell what her recovery is going to look like. Her energy feels so different right now."_

_"Well, let's not draw any premature conclusions," Tenzin offered in a very Tenzin-way. He briefly glanced at each of them with the best reassuring smile he could apparently muster and then settled back on his sister again. "Your powers are not as strong as they can be right now, Kya. I'm sure the healers in Republic City will be able to help."_

_A collective silence engulfed them again, several pairs of eyes resting on Korra. But just at that moment, Mako suddenly nudged Asami's shoulder and pointed up towards the sky. "Looks like our back-up is here."_

_Indeed, an ever-growing black dot on the horizon was quickly starting to resemble an airship, on course to their location in the mountains._

Looking back at that fateful day, Asami couldn't help but worry about what the future had in store for Team Avatar. Over the course of the past week, she'd often found herself remembering that day at the Northern Air Temple. Not exactly pleasant memories. Her eyes refocused on the cup of tea between her hands and then wandered over to her friends. Mako and Bolin were sitting next to each other at the large table, engaged in a heated argument over Bolin's career plans.

"But why can't I join the police force?" Bolin whined, looking at Opal across from him for support. But she just held up her hands in defense as if to say, "This is between you two."

Even Pabu decided to flee the scene and bounced from Bolin's shoulder to the floor and out of sight.

"You're just not cut out for that sort of job, bro," Mako retorted, leaning back in his chair. "You're too...impulsive."

Bolin gasped dramatically and then shook his head, pouting. "I will pretend you didn't just say that."

Opal's melodic laugh rang through the room. It really was great to have her here in Republic City. Asami couldn't help but smile at her friends' antics as they continued to argue until her emerald eyes inevitably settled on the person sitting across from her at the very end of the table. Korra didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversations happening around her. She just sat there in silence, head resting on one hand as she stared down at the table surface. Asami sighed and rose from her seat.

"Who's winning?" she asked as she pulled out a chair next to the Avatar, careful not to disturb Naga who was curled up next to her wheelchair. The polar bear dog refused to leave Korra's side ever since she'd returned to Air Temple Island, always keeping a watchful eye on her master.

Korra glanced up at Asami and raised an eyebrow at the question. Asami gestured to the surface of the table between them and smiled warmly. "Who's winning the staring contest? You or the table?"

The admittedly lame joke earned her a scoff, but the small smile that appeared on Korra's face didn't go unnoticed. "Funny."

Pursing her lips, Asami watched as the Avatar leaned back in her wheelchair and hugged her arms close to her chest. She'd been extremely quiet all night. "What's wrong, Korra?"

"Nothing," Korra mumbled, not even meeting her eyes. Next to her, Naga raised her enormous head and without looking at her, Korra's hand instantly found the soft fur, gently scratching the spot above her eyes. Asami glanced up from the interaction and studied her friend's face, noted the bags under her eyes and the way she was staring at her lap.

It had been a little over a week since they had defeated the Red Lotus. And it was only the second night where Korra was feeling well enough to join the group of friends for an evening get-together on Air Temple Island. It was a huge victory as everything else in Korra's recovery seemed to be going at an excruciatingly slow pace. That being said, there had been some improvements, of course. Korra's upper body was healing, meditation and various healing techniques seemed to help with some of her pain, and her mobility had greatly increased since they'd gotten a wheelchair for her - curtesy of the chief healer at Republic City Medical Center.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Asami decided to give it another shot. They'd played this game a few times this past week but she'd never gotten anywhere with it. Neither had any of the others, as far as she knew. The Avatar was doing everything she was told by healers and caretakers but as soon as her friends and family started asking deeper questions, she hid behind a wall of stubborn silence.

Thus, Korra scoffed again with no hint of gentleness in it this time. "There's nothing to talk about."

A sudden noise at the other end of the table had both girls jump out of their skin. Their heads whipped around to see Bolin scrambling to pick up the pieces of a broken lantern from the floor. Opal was giggling into her hands and even Mako seemed to be too tickled to suppress his laughter. The exact cause of their amusement completely lost on Korra and Asami, they just observed the scene with slight confusion.

"Everything all right in here?" Tenzin appeared in the doorway, cradling a sleeping Rohan against his broad chest. A deep frown replaced the smile on his face at the mess in front of him.

"I'm so sorry," Bolin instantly said, still on the floor. "It was an accident."

The airbending master sighed as he scratched his beard but nevertheless forced a smile. "Don't...worry about it."

Mako and Opal chuckled again, glancing at Bolin's reddened face. Tenzin's eyes scanned the room and his eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Korra was still with them. He walked past an embarrassed Bolin over to the girls.

"It's good to see you spending some time with your friends, Korra. How are you feeling?"

Asami observed as Korra sat up a little straighter in her wheelchair, managing a smile. "I'm fine," she mumbled, her voice soft. "Just getting a bit tired."

"It's been a long day," Tenzin nodded, turned to face the brothers and Opal. "Perhaps it is best if we all got some rest."

Bolin was just gathering the last pieces of broken glass and wood from the floor, his girlfriend helping him out. Mako rose from his seat as well, reaching down to grab Pabu as he scurried past him. The poor little guy squirmed in his firm grip.

"It's getting late anyway," Mako agreed, glancing at the girls. "Goodnight, Korra. Asami."

They all said their goodnights and shuffled off to head to the docks and back to their apartments in the city, leaving just Tenzin and little Rohan. The boy was creating a rather impressive drool stain on his father's robes at this point. Asami finally stood, already moving behind Korra to grab onto the handles of the wheelchair. Naga tilted her head to the side, roused by the commotion.

"I can take it from here, Tenzin," Asami said, unlocking the small mechanism on one of the wheels with her foot. She had installed it last night because the uneven terrain of Air Temple Island had posed a bit of a risk without a brake to secure it. Lucky for Korra, Meelo and Ikki were the ones who had discovered the dangers this wheelchair could pose instead of her.

At Asami's offer, Tenzin nodded in appreciation and wished them a good night as well. He disappeared through the same door as their friends, presumably off to put his children to bed. Asami had stayed over a few times to help out during this challenging time for everyone, so she knew the drill when it came to Korra's care by now. Without another word between the two friends, she wheeled the Avatar out of the room and expertly navigated the hallways in the dim light, Naga following them. It was indeed getting late and most inhabitants of the island had turned in for the night already. The young engineer eventually stopped in front of Korra's room and barely fifteen minutes later, Korra was already sitting on her bed in just a white tank top and loose pants. Even her hair was already down, ready for bed. Asami parked the wheelchair in the corner of the room and wordlessly went to pick up a few of Korra's clothes and belongings that were left on the floor.

"Don't." Korra's voice cut through the silence and Asami looked over her shoulder to find she was being closely watched by tired blue eyes. "You don't need to clean my room for me."

"Oh, I don't mind," Asami waved her off, continuing her task. She could still feel Korra's gaze on her as she moved around the small room and maneuvered around Naga. It was a habit the Avatar had picked up over the past few days. If Asami had to take a guess, she'd say that it was an unconscious choice born out of boredom and envy most of the time. They were all aware that Korra missed her ability to run and bend more than anything in the world and seeing them do even the smallest things she couldn't must be difficult.

Once she was satisfied with her work, Asami turned around to find her friend still in the same position on the edge of her bed, still watching her every move. She raised a fine eyebrow, resting a hand on her hip. "I thought you were tired?"

At that, Korra finally averted her eyes and opted to stare at her hands in her lap instead. "Can I ask you something?"


	2. A Bit Much

**A/N: Here's chapter two! Lemme know what you think :)**

**\- D.**

* * *

_"Can I ask you something?"_

Asami narrowed her eyes at the question, studying Korra. Her shoulders were tense, fingers drumming an irregular pattern on her thighs. This was certainly a first. The Avatar wasn't the most talkative person these days, so this was an unexpected but welcome change.

"Of course," she replied as she pulled up the chair next to Korra's bed. Somehow, this felt important enough to take a seat. "What is it?"

The room remained silent for a solid minute or two and Asami was beginning to think Korra wouldn't ask her question after all, when blue eyes met hers at last. "Do you think...how long do you think this," Korra vaguely gestured at her own chest, "is going to take?"

Asami slightly tilted her head at that, wary about where exactly this was going. Recovery. A touchy subject.

"I don't know, Korra," she started, carefully considering her words. "I mean, you heard what Kya said the other day. There is not just the physical side to this so it might take you a minute to get back to 100%."

It was the most honest answer she could muster without repeating one healer's words from a couple of days ago. He'd suggested it could take months or even years for their Avatar to get back on her feet, if at all. She bit her lip but held Korra's gaze. Korra knew the healers' assessments of the situation. Of course she did. So something told her this wasn't exactly what her friend had wanted to ask after all.

Korra seemed to ponder her response for a moment, a plethora of emotions crossing her features over the course of seconds, until her shoulders visibly relaxed again. Slumped, really. She ran a hand through her loose hair and smiled at Asami. It didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

When she took in Asami's frown, she quickly added, "Don't give me that look. I know it's gonna take a while."

Their eyes met as she spoke, Korra all but daring Asami to cross the line and ask what was really on her mind. But it had been a long day and Asami didn't know whether it would be wise to push her, especially given the subject. She did consider it for a moment but the last time she'd tried to get some answers, it hadn't exactly ended well.

"I should get going, then," she announced instead and stood. "Meetings tomorrow morning. The usual."

By the time she'd helped Korra get settled on her bed and crossed the room, the Avatar had already turned to lie on her side and was facing the white wall. She looked so small and vulnerable, all curled up. No one had really gotten used to this new version of her. It was unsettling almost. Korra and the term "vulnerable" didn't really fit well together. Asami feared it would only be a matter of time until the general public would start questioning this as well. As someone who had navigated the press and public image since the moment she was born, she had an uneasy feeling about the entire situation.

"'Night, Korra," she said softly, one hand on the sliding door.

Korra just hummed in response, further burying her face in her pillow, and that was it. Asami lingered in the doorway for just a moment longer, eyes trained on the girl in front of her. Oh, what she wouldn't do to go back to Korra's initial optimism.

_"Soooo...when do you think they'll get here?"_

_Several pairs of eyes looked down at Bolin, taking in his position on the floor against Opal's legs. From the looks of it, he'd finally given up on trying to improve his Ayatori skills. His hands dropped to his lap, fingers all caught up in the thin strings. His girlfriend sighed for what felt like the twentieth time that day and leaned forward to place a delicate hand on his broad shoulder._

_"We don't know, Bolin," she told him with all the patience she could muster. "Just like we told you ten minutes ago."_

_Bolin all but growled at that in frustration, looking over to Mako on the bench across the room for support. "I mean, what's taking them so long?"_

_"Bro." His older brother closed the pro-bending magazine he was reading and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "They'll be here soon enough. So stop asking."_

_"Wait, why did you put that there?" Jinora looked up at Asami across from her and pointed to the white stone she'd just placed on the grid between them. The two were sitting at the table in the middle of the room, hunched over an intense game of Go. The engineer had spent the past couple of hours trying to teach the airbender kids how to play, but only the eldest was patient enough for this kind of game. Her younger siblings had left to bother their mother long ago. Since Tenzin was still at Republic City Medical Center with Korra and the other injured, the rest of Team Avatar had volunteered to stick around and help Pema with the kids today. After all, it had been less than 24 hours since they'd all returned home from the Northern Air Temple and things were still far from normal._

_Just as Asami was explaining her strategy to Jinora, the door slid open and Su stepped into the room, smiling brightly. "I have good news. Tenzin just radioed," she announced, gaining everyone's attention. "They'll be down at the dock in a few minutes."_

_"Yes! Daddy's coming home!" Meelo shot past Su, created an air scooter as he ran and took several laps around the room. He was gone again as fast as he'd appeared, leaving only a trail of destruction behind him. Asami picked up a few black and white stones from the floor, while Mako groaned like an old man as he got up to search for his magazine. Bolin jumped up from his seat, whirled around and grabbed Opal's shoulders between his hands._

_"Did you hear that?" His voice was an octave higher than usual. "Korra's coming home!"_

_Bolin's excitement almost matched Meelo's - minus the air scooter of destruction, of course. The others, however, did not seem as enthusiastic about the news. In fact, the uncertainties surrounding Korra's recovery had been close to unbearable. __The Avatar returning to Air Temple Island did not change that. __Tenzin, Kya and the others - they all had treatable injuries and had already been told by several healers they'd be okay within a few weeks. But it was a different story for Korra._

_As Bolin babbled on about the injured finally coming home and Jinora left to join her mother and siblings, Mako and Asami exchanged a look across the room. From what they'd heard so far, things didn't look too great for Korra. Her legs were the main issue, as far as they knew. The healers were still trying to figure out how to help her but just this morning, Lin Beifong had decided that the Avatar needed some time away from the public and had thus ordered a team of healers to continue their efforts on Air Temple Island._

_None of them had seen Korra since she'd first regained consciousness again yesterday afternoon. With Asami being pestered by her assistant to handle neglected business matters and the brothers helping both Lin and Tenzin's families out, it had been difficult to spend a lot of time at the hospital. Not that any of them could be of much use there. With Korra and the others returning home now, it was hard to tell what the coming weeks and months would look like._

* * *

_A lot of excitement and many joyous reunions later, everyone was gathered in the dining hall with the air acolytes and the Beifong family, finally celebrating their victory over the Red Lotus and the return of the injured. With a group of healers on the island, even Bumi and Kya were with them tonight. Team Avatar - plus Opal, of course - had an entire table to themselves, given that the healers had insisted on getting Korra an extra wide chair with armrests and fluffy cushions instead of the regular lowered tables used on the island._

_There was loud laughter and the clinking of glasses all around the friends. It wasn't a big celebration given half of the attendees were still pretty banged up from the vicious fights they survived, but the atmosphere was more relaxed than any of them thought possible just a couple of days ago._

_They'd barely been seated for ten minutes when Bolin kept grinning at Korra across the table, completely ignoring his food. The staring earned him a raised eyebrow from the Avatar. "Do I have something on my face?"_

_Korra's voice was still weaker than any of them had ever heard it before but the slight amusement was evident in her eyes. Bolin beamed. "Nope. It's just so good to see you out and about!" His smile wavered a bit when he added, "We were really worried."_

_Asami's hand found Korra's shoulder in silent agreement. From the other side of the table, Mako and Opal offered bright smiles as well. The sentiment had Korra avert her eyes and stare at the dumplings on her plate._

_"I wouldn't be here without you guys," she finally mumbled, her words still quiet and her eyes heavy. She'd barely touched her food as well. "I didn't have time to thank any of you yet but...thank you. I owe you all."_

_As soon as she'd said that, Bolin being Bolin waved it off with an exaggerated hand gesture. The biggest smile returned to his face. "Oh, don't be silly, Korra. It was a team effort."_

_Before any of the others had a chance to chime in and agree, a soft voice interrupted their conversation._

_"Korra."_

_Jinora had appeared in front of the table, smiling timidly at the Avatar. It brought a smile to everyone else's face, still in awe of how the young girl handled the situation back at the Northern Air Temple. It was hard to believe she was just eleven years old, wise and courageous beyond her years. From the legends told about Avatar Aang, it was definitely a trait she had inherited from her grandfather._

_Given all the excitement and hassle surrounding their return to Republic City, the two girls hadn't had the time to talk much yet - at least not without Meelo right in Korra's face and Ikki hugging her so tight that Pema had to chide her for hurting her._

_"Come here." Korra opened her arms and turned toward her, slightly shaking under the effort. But neither her nor Jinora seemed to care much about it when the young airbender closed the distance and all but launched herself at the Avatar, almost stepping on Naga's fur. The polar bear dog was squeezed into the corner of the room behind Korra's chair, napping as per usual._

_"I heard you're getting your tattoos soon, Master," Korra whispered into her hair, a big smile on her face as she added the last word._

_That small comment had Jinora instantly pull away again to beam up at Korra with brilliantly bright eyes. They still held each other at arm's length as Team Avatar tried to give them a moment, returning their focus to their food as subtly as possible._

_"I know," Jinora breathed. "I still can't believe it."_

_Korra chuckled to herself and reached out to put a hand on the young airbender's shoulder. "I'm so proud of you."_

_"Oh, my gosh!" Bolin wiped at the tears forming in his eyes, his voice as high as it possibly could be. "You guys are killing me here."_

_They all shared a lighthearted laugh and soon, Jinora was off to join her family again. As soon as she was out of earshot, Korra released a deep breath, winced slightly, and leaned back into the soft cushions of her chair. She closed her eyes for a moment. Somewhere near them, they could hear Meelo yell something at Ikki, followed by laughter from the adults._

_"You okay, Korra?" Opal asked quietly, exchanging a worried look with Bolin. It wasn't a good sign that such a small interaction with Jinora was enough to completely exhaust her. It painfully reminded them all of the toll the poison and fight had taken on their Avatar._

_When Korra didn't respond immediately, Asami gently touched her arm. "Do you maybe want to turn in for the night? We helped the air acolytes prepare your room this afternoon."_

_"Yeah, we understand this might be a bit much," Mako chimed in, gesturing vaguely at the table with his chopsticks. The movement caused a noodle to drop next to his bowl and a small red paw was instantly reaching for it from under the table. But Mako didn't even seem to notice._

_"No, I'm fine," Korra smiled faintly, eyes remaining closed. Another moment passed and she opened them again, looking around the table at each of her friends. "I love you guys."_

_It was silent for a beat or two. Then-_

_"I have a feeling she's responding a little too well to the herbs the healers gave her," Bolin stage-whispered to Opal and Mako, making them laugh. Asami chuckled into her hand, trying hard not to full-on laugh with the others. __Korra rolled her eyes at her friends' antics, but even she had to smile at that._

_"No, I mean it," she insisted, her voice cracking. This entire evening was definitely a bit much for her, no doubt about it. Then, out of nowhere, a crooked smile appeared on her face when she eyed Bolin and added, "I can't wait to be back in shape and kick your butt for that joke, though."_

Back in Korra's room, Asami risked one last glance at the Avatar's still form on the bed and closed the doors behind her. This Korra did not bear much resemblance with the one that returned home just a little over a week ago, still full of life and hope despite her health struggles. Each passing day seemed to chip away at her determination to regain her strength and overcome this. The nightmares, the pain, the frustration - it was painful to watch for all of them. On top of that, getting through to Korra was beginning to be increasingly difficult, even on the good days. If only she'd be able to move her legs again. That would be a game-changer, for sure. It would restore a little fight in her. But for now, no one knew when - or if - that would happen.

On her way back to the Sato estate, Asami couldn't help but continue her musings. Worry was her constant companion these days. She knew the others felt the same way. She frequently discussed her worries with the brothers, both of them just as anxious about the situation. Hopefully, Jinora's anointment as airbending master would boost Korra's spirits a little. Asami knew their bond was stronger than ever after all the trauma and maybe, just maybe, it was enough to remind the Avatar of all the good that had come of this struggle with the Red Lotus, with Zaheer.


	3. A Situation

**A/N: Aaaaand chapter 3. A week later than planned but still.**

**\- D.**

* * *

The day after Jinora's big ceremony, most inhabitants of Republic City and its visitors - including world leaders like Lord Zuko, of course - had gone back to their regular schedules. Only Team Avatar still spent the majority of their time at Air Temple Island helping out with the kids and keeping Korra company. This day in particular, the brothers and Asami were keen on hanging out with Su and her family as they had returned for this special occasion but would leave for Zaofu again in the evening after one last big dinner. Only Korra's parents had accepted Tenzin's invitation to stay another week, possibly longer. They didn't want to leave their daughter just yet and Korra refused to discuss the possibility of returning home to the South Pole with them.

"Excuse me, Tenzin? Have you seen Korra?"

Tenzin looked up from the scroll he was reading and found Mako and Asami standing in the doorway to his study. They didn't dare to fully enter the small room. It was common knowledge that the airbending master did not appreciate visitors in his sacred study filled with precious air nation artifacts that had somehow survived the Hundred Year War. Though that rule had probably been established after his kids were born. He scratched his beard for a moment.

It might seem like a silly question to ask about a relatively immobile person, but Asami had actually given the wheelchair a few upgrades to make it even easier for Korra to operate it herself. With the limited amount of strength she'd had in her arms these past couple of weeks, it had seemed like a good idea to give her the maximum independence someone in her position could possibly obtain. However, this latest upgrade had resulted in Korra disappearing more and more throughout the day, on her own. It was technically a good thing she even wanted to leave her bed at all, but her vulnerable state had everyone on edge every time this happened. In fact, Mako and Bolin had overheard Tenzin giving White Lotus members orders to quietly keep an eye on the Avatar at all times.

"I have not seen her since our afternoon tea," Tenzin offered thoughtfully. "Perhaps she is enjoying a game of Pai Sho with her mother?"

Indeed, Korra had been spending some quality time with her mother these past few days but since Senna was the one who had tasked Mako and Asami with fetching her, it wasn't really valuable information. They thanked him nonetheless and soon found themselves walking out of the temple and back towards one of the main buildings. As they crossed the courtyard, they could hear Su and Tonraq helping Pema prepare dinner together in the kitchen. Kya and Bumi could be heard laughing with their other guests in the dining hall.

Before they entered the building though, Mako suddenly grabbed Asami's arm, effectively stopping her in her tracks. She looked at his hand, then at him. "What?"

"There's only one place she can easily access out here," he mumbled, already pulling Asami along.

The two of them walked the small pathway that led to the meditation pavilion and sure enough, they spotted a very excited polar bear dog and a wheelchair from afar. Mako turned to Asami with a smug smile, which earned him an eye roll in response. Their dynamic had really changed for the better since the events at the Northern Air Temple. Instead of focusing on feelings and their past, they just concerned themselves with Korra's wellbeing. A common goal. It seemed to work for them, at least for now. Either way, Asami sincerely hoped Mako was now past the awkwardness phase for good.

As the two friends made their way over to Korra, they noticed she wasn't alone with Naga. The giant animal was jumping around, tail wagging as she sprinted off after a ball Opal had thrown with all her might. Given the extra airbending boost, it was safe to assume Naga would be busy searching for it for a while. Meanwhile, Bolin was excitedly waving Pabu around in front of Korra.

"...a little uniform to fit in with the Metal Clan!" They could only see his back but the grin on his face was evident in his voice. "How cool is that?"

What they did see was Korra's forced smile, looking a bit overwhelmed with the energy thrown her way. Mako sighed audibly next to Asami as they reached their friends. It was a well-known fact that Bolin's natural bubbliness was a bit much for the Avatar these days. They loved Bolin but he was just not great at toning it down a bit in front of Korra. It was just his way of trying to cheer her up, most of the time. No one had the heart to tell him he wasn't exactly helping.

"Oh, hey, guys." Opal spotted them first, ripping her eyes from the trees that Naga had disappeared behind. "What's up?"

"Dinner will be ready soon and we were looking for you guys," Mako informed them. Bolin's grin got impossibly wider as he turned around to face his brother.

"Oh, awesome!" He didn't even notice Pabu trying to escape his grip at this point. "Opal and I ran into Korra on our walk and were about to head back to see if we could help."

The mention of her name didn't even seem to register with the Avatar. Her face was turned toward the ocean now, watching the waves over her shoulder. The setting sun was dancing on the metal of her wheelchair, making it almost sparkle. She didn't look too great, to be honest. The day of the ceremony had been exhausting for her. In public, she'd visibly tried to put on a brave face but in private, she'd begun to crumble. Her friends had all witnessed that first hand. Today, she hadn't even put in the effort to put her hair up. Instead, it was down and blowing in her face in the cool evening breeze.

"Hey, you okay, Korra?" Opal rested a gentle hand on Korra's shoulder, causing the tiniest flinch. It was barely noticeable, but Asami knew Mako was just as perceptive as she was when she saw his frown deepen.

Naga chose this moment to make a reappearance, coming to a halt just inches short of Korra's legs. Korra frowned in disgust as the wet ball was lovingly placed in her lap. She quickly handed it to Opal, who balanced it on a small air pad, looking equally disgusted.

"Yup," Korra finally answered, distracted by Naga's insistence on an ear scratch as a reward. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Bolin looked at Opal questioningly, picking up on the strange vibe in Korra's voice. Before the silence could stretch into an uncomfortable moment, Asami quickly moved to take her usual place behind Korra's wheelchair.

"All right," she announced, grabbing the handles. "I'm sure Pema would appreciate some help."

With Naga happily chasing Pabu around them - the little guy had finally been able to ditch Bolin's strong hands - the friends made their way back to the main building, the smell of delicious food hitting them already.

* * *

A few hours later, they'd already waved goodbye to Su and her entire family as they took off in one of the Metal Clan's airships. Only Opal had decided to stay to be with Bolin and the other airbenders. The two of them would then visit Zaofu in a couple of weeks. All part of a compromise Su had insisted on. Besides, the Earth Kingdom was fragile these days after the monarchy had been overthrown by the Red Lotus. It wouldn't hurt to have someone like Bolin and Opal there to report back to Republic City.

Most inhabitants of Air Temple Island were getting ready to turn in for the night at this point. This was always Team Avatar's cue to head back to the mainland and return to their homes as well. Occasionally, they'd stay in one of the guest rooms, but Mako valued his privacy and so did Bolin and Asami. The boys had already headed to the docks after saying their goobyes to everyone. As part of the new air nation, Opal seemed to feel an obligation to live with the air acolytes and Tenzin's family.

As for Asami, she'd been intrigued by one of Kya's comments on combining water with a new piece of technology she'd been working on and had found herself discussing the possibilities with her for quite some time. Once Kya excused herself to head to her room and call it a day, Asami had briefly cleaned the kitchen and was now on her way to wish Korra a good night. It was just something she always did before leaving the island, like a ritual. Especially given the emotionally charged couple of days they'd had, she wanted to make sure Korra would get plenty of opportunities to make use of Asami's promise the other day. If she wanted to talk, Asami would be there.

The closer she got to the women's dormitory, the more she was starting to doubt Korra was even still up. Senna had accompanied her daughter to her room a while ago and the last thing Asami wanted was to wake her up. She knew Korra wasn't sleeping well, had heard from various people on the island that they were sometimes awoken by screams in the middle of the night. She frowned at the image of a distraught Korra waking up from a nightmare, all alone. This really wasn't fair. Korra deserved some peace after everything she'd been through.

Wrapped up in her train of thought, Asami soon found herself carefully sliding open the doors to Korra's room and instantly had to stifle a full-blown scream as a huge tongue licked her cheek.

"Naga, get off!" she scolded the polar bear dog and tried to shove her massive paw off of her leg. "You're gonna wake the entire island!"

The poor animal hung her head and took a few steps backwards, almost knocking over a small table. She cried quietly as Asami scanned the room. Even in the dim light of the moon shining through the window, she saw at once that it was empty. No sign of the Avatar. Her wheelchair wasn't here either, which probably meant she was out and about in one of the buildings somewhere. This was highly unusual at this time of day. Everyone was getting ready for bed, Korra usually being one of the first to turn in for the night. She sometimes still napped during the day, even.

Asami closed the distance between her and Naga again, feeling bad for having yelled at her. "I'm sorry. I'm just looking for Korra."

The polar bear dog's ears perked up at the sound of her favorite person's name but her whimpering sounds did not fade. Asami ran a hand through the soft fur of her head and wondered why she was in here all by herself. The two were inseparable and Naga would never willingly leave Korra's side.

Maybe the Avatar was just still with her mother but Asami had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind about this. She closed the doors to Korra's room again, telling Naga to stay and wait despite her protests, and decided to go looking for her friend. Better be safe than sorry. One never knew what might happen. For someone who still needed help with basic tasks such as getting dressed, this tendency to disappear without another word was getting more and more worrisome. She was just turning a corner to make her way back to the dining area when a familiar voice spoke up behind her.

"Asami?"

The young engineer spun around to find Pema smiling at her, Meelo fast asleep in her arms. He was drooling on her robes but it didn't seem to bother her. "Everything all right, dear?"

Asami smiled back at her and nodded. "I was about to leave but I forgot some of my notes somewhere around here."

Lying to Pema was significantly easier than expected. The older woman nodded and wished her a good night and safe journey home, shuffling off with her young son. Asami wasn't sure why she didn't just tell Pema about the situation. Well, it wasn't really a situation yet. For all she knew, Korra could have been stubborn enough to use the sanitary facilities by herself. Or make some tea. It was highly unlikely but still possible.

However, after searching the entire air temple, every room and hall, Asami was beginning to panic. She pondered seeking out Tenzin or Korra's parents but something stopped her from doing so. She checked Korra's room one last time - after all, they could have just missed each other due to unfortunate timing - but the bed was still empty. At least Naga had decided to curl up on the floor and wait there.

Feeling silly, Asami decided to at least check the rest of the island before waking someone or just letting Naga loose to hunt her down. Although, the latter option would also alert everyone else in an instant. But maybe Korra had decided to enjoy the full moon tonight to meditate. She'd been out here a couple of nights ago, just watching the bay and cloudless sky. Though Asami knew she'd had company that day as Bolin had told her all about their stargazing activities.

Pulling her jacket a little closer to her body in the cold, Asami figured she'd just go to the meditation pavilion first. Despite her initial struggles with the spiritual side of things, Korra had grown quite fond of the place. She'd praised Avatar Aang for choosing the perfect spot for it on numerous occasions. As Asami got closer to it, she was disheartened by the lack of a wheelchair on the pavilion. She was about to turn around and head over to the training grounds when a movement caught her eye.

Her eyes tried to make out any shapes in the dark. With the sun long gone, leaving the pavilion and its surroundings only illuminated by the moon and stars. She'd give a lot to have the city lights reach this part of the island right now. Another movement near the edge of the cliff sent a shiver down Asami's spine, this time not from the cold.

"Korra?" Asami called into the dark. "Is that you?"


	4. Consider the Options

**A/N: Better late than never, I guess? I've been sitting on this since before I uploaded the last chapter but the longer I wait, the more hesitant I get to post anything at all so here you go.**

**TW: Mentions of suicidal thoughts**

* * *

_"Korra?" Asami called into the dark. "Is that you?"_

But she received no reply. As she got closer, her feet began to pick up speed on their own accord. She could make out the silhouette of Korra's wheelchair, seemingly empty. A figure was hunched on the ground next to it, dangerously close to the rocky cliff. Still confused and beyond worried, Asami sprinted the last few feet and then dropped to her knees beside Korra.

"Are you okay?" she breathed, frantically checking her friend for injuries. Korra appeared fine enough at first glance, albeit a bit startled by Asami's sudden arrival. She was just sitting here, legs dangling off the edge of the cliff, looking up at Asami with big blue eyes. "Korra, what are you doing out here?"

The Avatar just shrugged, averting her eyes again to look back at the rocks and waves below them. "I could ask you the same question."

Asami was still confused and just remained in her frozen position, one hand still on Korra's bare shoulder. Her skin was cold against her palm in the freezing winds of the bay. That realization seemed to shake the young engineer out of her stupor.

"How did you get out of the chair on your own?" she asked to somehow get a conversation going, while reaching down to undo the buttons on her own jacket. She slid down to the ground to mimic the her friend's position on the edge of the cliff, their thighs almost touching.

Korra snorted at the question but there was no humor in it, eyes now trained on the horizon. Her voice was raspier than usual. "You don't want to know."

Korra didn't even acknowledge it when Asami placed her jacket around her shoulders, rubbing her hands up and down Korra's arms in an attempt to speed up the process a bit. Truth be told, Asami was starting to panic again. Korra seemed so...distant. More so than usual. It's like she wasn't really there. She removed her hands again, following her friend's gaze down to the waves. The water was always really rough and wild around these cliffs, especially at this time of year.

"Korra," she started again, the wind now almost unbearably cold against her thin shirt. She hugged her arms close to her chest, wondering how Korra had sat here for who knows how long without freezing to death. "I meant what I said the other day. I'm here if you want to talk."

Her words were met with silence once again. This was getting more and more unsettling by the second. Glancing at Korra again, she saw tears glistening in her eyes. That's when Asami decided she couldn't take it anymore.

"Korra, look at me."

The Avatar's features hardened at the sound of her voice but Asami persisted. She extended one shaking arm and rested her hand on Korra's thigh. "Hey."

At last, Korra reluctantly tore her eyes from the waves to meet her gaze. There was nothing but pain and sorrow in those blue orbs, even worse than what she'd seen in them before Jinora's ceremony. It tugged at Asami's heartstrings and rendered her unable to do anything but wrap her other arm around Korra to pull her into her side. She swallowed hard, determined to stay strong for her. But feeling the younger girl silently shake against her made her bite her lip and squeeze her eyes shut, focused on her own breathing for just a moment to maintain her composure. Crying with Korra wasn't an option for her right now. Not even the cold bothered her anymore at this point.

Whatever this was, whatever was running through Korra's head - it couldn't be good. Two weeks of the most painful recovery she'd ever endured had evidently taken its toll on the Avatar. Not being able to move and train was crushing her spirits, let alone coming to terms with the trauma that got her in this position in the first place.

After what felt like an eternity, Korra seemed to calm down a bit. They didn't alter their position, though. Korra wasn't fighting her and had stilled against Asami's side, her head resting on the taller girl's shoulder. Asami was unsure of how one was supposed to navigate this type of situation. The time, the cliff - the implications of what could have happened scared her enough to try not to think about it too much.

Five more minutes had passed, when the rational part of her brain figured they couldn't stay like this forever. She cleared her throat. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Almost instantly, Korra shook her head and finally leaned away from her to sit up straight again. "No."

Asami reluctantly dropped her arms at the loss of warmth in the cold night air. She nodded, having anticipated that answer. Korra didn't share her thoughts these days. It was rare that she opened up to any of them.

"Do you want your jacket back?"

Asami realized she'd been rubbing her hands up and down her own thighs, trying to generate some heat. She eyed Korra, who was seemingly mesmerized by the movement. Her eyes had this glow to them in the moonlight, making her gaze even more intense. Asami's hands stilled.

"No, it's-" Asami cut herself off. Korra was starting to seriously freak her out and she needed to do something. Anything. "Can we go back inside?"

It took Korra a minute to answer. She ripped her eyes from Asami's hands and gazed down at the water once again, then at the horizon. "Why are you here?"

Asami studied her face, noted the messy trails of dried tears on her cheeks. She looked over her shoulder at the wheelchair, already thinking about the quickest route back to the dormitories. Korra's question confused her.

"I always make sure to say goodbye to everyone before I leave for the city again," she said. "You weren't in your room and-"

"No." Korra's voice was quiet but it was enough to cut her off. Their eyes met. "Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?" Part of Asami was glad they were having what would qualify as a proper exchange, the other part frowned at the hostility in Korra's voice. "Of course I'd come to check on you. You'd do the same."

To her surprise, the Avatar groaned at that but didn't say anything else. She seemed a little less emotionally distant now but frustration - and maybe anger? - had taken its place. It was beyond confusing. If only the girl could properly communicate her thoughts. It would make everyone's lives so much easier these days.

"Can we just discuss this inside?" Asami said and before Korra could even reply, she was already back on her feet. "Come on."

The way back to the main building was a long and quiet one. They didn't run into anyone else at this late hour. Neither of them spoke a word until they arrived in one of the dining areas, the one that had a suitable table for Korra's wheelchair. When Asami secured the brakes and turned to leave, Korra caught her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making us some tea," she said gently, ignoring Korra's protests about wanting to go to bed. "I'll be right back."

She disappeared into the kitchen and emerged a few minutes later with two steaming hot mugs in her hands. She placed one in front of Korra and took a seat next to her. The warm tea was wonderful after freezing their butts off in the cold for way too long. As if to echo her thoughts, she heard Korra sigh next to her as the hot liquid hit her throat. Her black jacket was still wrapped around the Avatar's shoulders but neither of them seemed to care.

"It's not what you think, okay?" Korra's voice was barely above a whisper as it cut through the silence.

Asami pressed her lips together in a thin line, noted how Korra wasn't meeting her eyes but was instead watching the steam rise from her tea and fade away. "And what am I thinking?"

"I.." Korra searched for the right words, her hands fiddling with the cup. "I wasn't trying to do anything."

Asami let that statement sink in as she took another sip from her own tea. She was very aware of Korra's implications and it scared her just as much as it had when they'd still been out there. She wasn't stupid. She knew Korra - and plenty of others - had talked about the the future for Korra as the Avatar back when Amon had taken her bending. She'd connected the dots while holding her friend as she cried out in the cold but until this moment had hoped she'd been wrong. It could have been just another bad day.

"When you asked me about your recovery last week," Asami started carefully and knew she had Korra's attention from the way her hands stilled around the cup of tea, "and about how long it would take - you were already thinking about the Avatar Cycle, weren't you?"

The thought had just hit her and it made sense now. She hadn't forgotten their little talk just a few days ago. The way Korra's shoulders slumped confirmed her suspicions more than any words could. Asami sighed and wondered what they had done to deserve to reach this point. It was surreal to be talking about this subject at all but she felt a sense of responsibility to be here and talk her friend out of potentially doing something terrible. She swallowed hard at the mere thought of it.

"The world needs the Avatar, especially after the damage the Red Lotus caused," Korra mumbled, finding her voice again. "It's my duty to at least consider the options."

The nonchalant way in which she said it rendered Asami speechless. Her mind was racing twice as fast as usual to come up with the right words to reassure Korra that this was by no means an "option" to think about for just one second. Two weeks was nothing. It would take more time and then she'd be back to fighting the bad guys with the brothers and Asami by her side, just as it was supposed to be.

Her stunned silence made Korra uncomfortable enough to meet her eyes and speak up again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Do I need to be worried?" Asami tried her best to keep her voice calm and steady. If she could master tense business meetings, she could remain composed for her closest friend.

"No." Korra shrugged in defeat, averting her eyes once again. "I'm not gonna do anything but...it just crosses my mind sometimes, you know?"

Once again, Asami took a moment to think about her words. This felt so important, so delicate, that she was afraid to say the wrong thing. She hated that Korra was feeling this way and should have seen it coming over the past week. They all should have. The Avatar Cycle was bound to be on Korra's mind after what the Red Lotus had tried to accomplish.

She reached over the table, now luke-warm tea long forgotten, and wrapped her hand around Korra's. The Avatar looked up, clearly back to being on the verge of tears.

"I'm glad we're talking about this," Asami said, trying to force a smile despite herself. Korra's eyes widened at that, like she'd expected a passionate monologue about why her thoughts were stupid. Asami had no idea what she was doing but somehow, the gentle route always seemed most effective with Korra, especially in her current state.

"But you have to promise me one thing," Asami continued, noting how Korra's cheeks were already wet with fresh tears. She wiped angrily at them with her free hand as she listened. "Give yourself some more time to heal and talk to one of us next time you're thinking about any Avatar stuff. You don't have to figure that out on your own. Deal?"

"Asami, I wasn't going to do anything," Korra said, staring intensely into Asami's emerald eyes. "And I won't do anything. I just had a bad day."

"I believe you," Asami countered calmly. It was a lie but that didn't matter right now. "I still want you to promise me you'll talk to us."

Silence. Then-

"Fine." Korra took a deep breath. She looked exhausted at this point, wiping her cheeks dry once again with the sleeve of Asami's jacket. She didn't even seem to notice and it brought a small smile to Asami's lips despite the situation. "I promise."

They sat there for another moment until Korra started to yawn in ten second intervals. It must have been past midnight by now. Asami smiled and finally released her hand. She stood and moved behind Korra's wheelchair like so many times before and the two of them made their way back to Korra's room. Korra eventually suggested she should stay on the island and sleep in one of the guest rooms but Asami politely declined. She said she'd rather sleep in her own bed tonight.

The real reason for her fleeing the island revealed itself the second Asami stepped onto her boat at the docks. The weight of the day, Korra's struggles, their talk - it all came crashing down on her at once and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. As she sped across the waves, she prayed to the spirits and Raava herself that Korra would make some progress soon, that she'd see why she was still loved and needed - Avatar or not.

* * *

**A/N: This was intense to write so I'd appreciate any feedback :)**


	5. This Is Not Working

**A/N: Sorry, this took forever. Hope you like it.**

* * *

"I don't know why I agreed to this," Mako grunted, slipping out of his dripping wet coat with some difficulty.

Meelo and Ikki's laughter rang through the air, amplified by the mountains surrounding them. They sped past Mako on their air scooters, almost knocking the poor guy over. He groaned once again and took several steps back from the lake, dragging his coat through the dirt. There was no saving it now anyway. His white shirt stuck uncomfortably to his skin and he was about to take it off as well, when Ikki came to a halt right in front of him.

"I can help with that," she said a bit too sweetly.

A second later, Mako was almost blown off his feet by the gush of wind she directed at his chest. He yelped and stumbled backwards. "Stop that!"

By the time he opened his eyes, Ikki was already twenty feet away from him again, giggling together with her little brother. Mako's eyebrow twitched, his fists still in the air, still in a fighting stance. His hair was a mess but at least his shirt was indeed dry now, for the most part. He finally dropped his arms in defeat and looked over his shoulder towards his friends. Bolin was in the middle of designing and erecting chairs, tables, and a bit of shelter from the sun. Why bother bringing your own chairs when you can just have an earthbender do the job wherever you please? Opal and Asami were assisting him, giving their opinions and suggestions for their little camp. Mako also spotted Jinora pushing Korra along the lake in the distance, Naga speeding past them in the water. Mako wondered why he of all people had been tasked with watching the kids for a while so they wouldn't mess up Bolin's work. He sighed, mentally preparing himself for their next attack.

On the other side of the lake, Bolin wiped off the sweat from his forehead, grinning at his work. He glanced at the girls behind him. "Thoughts?"

Both Asami and and Opal nodded their approval, watching Bolin frown at Pabu's attempt to dig a hole in the loose sand of one of the tables.

"I'll get the blankets," Opal announced, already walking towards Asami's Satomobile that she'd parked under a huge pine tree nearby.

This temporary camp would do for the day. The trip had been Bolin's idea and for once, the rest of their friend group had agreed that it might be good to get Korra out of Republic City for just an afternoon. Week four of recovery wasn't going well, to say the least, and they all hoped some fresh air far away from the healers on Air Temple Island would be a welcome change of scenery. So with Tenzin's permission they'd taken Oogi with some supplies while Asami and Mako had driven Korra out here in Asami's car. It was just safer that way because none of them had been fond of the idea of Korra's wheelchair potentially falling off of Oogi's saddle during their journey.

"What happened to you?" Jinora asked Mako a short while later as everyone gathered back at their camp to have lunch. The poor guy's shirt was not white anymore, his damp coat slumped carelessly over his shoulder. He took a deep breath and just pointed at Jinora's siblings, both smiling innocently with their hands behind their backs.

Everyone else chuckled at his expression and Bolin patted him on the back. "Oh, lighten up, Mako. How hard can it be to babysit two tiny airbenders?"

Before Mako could snap his brother's neck in half, Naga came pounding between them and effectively knocked Mako to the ground. She licked his entire face in greeting, water dripping from her wet fur onto his body. The group erupted in laughter once again and watched the firebender drop his head in defeat.

As Naga ran off to play with Pabu, Korra pushed her wheelchair forward and came to a halt next to Mako. He raised an eyebrow at her, still flat on his back. She smiled.

"I'd bend the water and dirt out of your clothes but, you know," she gestured vaguely at her body, "I can't."

Awkward silence is an understatement for what followed her casual remark. Maybe a less bitter tone would have helped disguise it as a poor joke a little better. But Korra had always been bad at hiding her emotions.

What does one say to that? Mako certainly didn't seem to be able to figure it out. His mouth opened and closed several times, almost comically. Until Bolin, bless him, was the one who managed to somehow ease the tension a little.

"Well, I can try to take care of the dirt part, at least?" he offered with an awkward smile, walking over and offering a hand to his brother. Mako, grateful to get an out, took it and the rest of the group seemed shaken out of their trance. Asami sighed and moved behind Korra's wheelchair, announcing that the lunch table was all set. It didn't escape her notice that Korra crossed her arms in front of her chest and hung her head. What she wouldn't give to be able to read the Avatar's mind.

Given the nature of this challenging time, you'd think that Korra's newly discovered talkative side would be a good development. Finally, she was more open to communicating with her friends and caretakers. If only her words weren't filled with anger and frustration most of the time. She got upset at the littlest things these days and everyone understood and cut her some slack, but it still was far from easy to deal with.

The next couple of hours went better than Asami had expected. They joked around and enjoyed the fresh air. They'd done so much traveling over the past year that even this day trip into the mountains felt a little bit like old times. Sort of. Of course, they didn't have any criminals to fight this time around and the air nation was doing well enough on its own these days.

Regardless of the fun parts of this excursion, it pained everyone to see Korra's longing glances at the water. Maybe they shouldn't have picked a lake to hang out at. Water was not her favorite element but it was home. She'd been trying to bend water just this week. Multiple times, she'd sat in the tub the healers used for treatment and had tried to create small waves. By the time Senna had arrived to accompany her to dinner, Korra had been in a heated fight with the healers who were insisting she take a break. Needless to say, no one was able to console her for the rest of the day.

Today was supposed to be different. Board games and good food out in nature, in the mountains they all loved just outside the city they called home. It was an unspoken rule among everyone that bending was to be kept at a minimum around Korra. All month long, people had been mindful of that, so they tried to keep that up out here as well. There was no need to unnecessarily remind her of what she couldn't do. In theory, an overall excellent plan. Reality, however, was a different story. It was something they were painfully reminded of a short while after lunch.

"Can we go hike up that mountain?" Meelo was bouncing up and down on the spot in front of Opal and Bolin. "I bet we can see grandpa Aang's statue from there!"

The couple glanced back at Asami, who was just setting up a Pai Sho board for her and Korra, and only received a shrug.

Opal smiled at the boy. "Sure, Meelo. Let me just-"

But Meelo was already pulling Ikki and Jinora along towards the other side of the lake, where you could make out a narrow path. Naga excitedly ran after them, almost knocking them over.

"Have fun, Bo." Mako grinned at Bolin from his position in one of the chairs, his arms folded behind his head.

"Do you want to come with us?" Bolin asked the other two at the table, completely unfazed by his brother's smugness. "Could be fun!"

Unfortunately, Korra beat Asami to a reply. She chuckled but there was not humor in it. "Sure. Wanna carry me?"

"Um," Bolin scratched his neck. "No? I mean, I could make you a lift of some...sort...?"

Korra smiled sympathetically at him and picked up a Pai Sho tile, twirling it in her fingers. Her voice was strangely distant. "We both know Tenzin would kill you if he found out."

"Just go, Bolin," Asami cut in, leaning on the table. She gave him her best reassuring smile. "We're good down here."

Bolin was not one to hold onto uncomfortable moments and took Opal's hand to run after the airbender kids. Mako remained in his spot and just crossed his arms in front of his chest, glancing at Korra. Asami took a seat across from the Avatar as she finished setting up the pieces on the board.

"He was just trying to be nice," Asami mumbled and Korra looked up from the board.

The Avatar frowned and looked at her questioningly. "Yeah, I know."

Asami felt Mako's eyes on her but she ignored it. Why did she always have to be the one to push Korra? It was exhausting. She took a deep breath and moved the first tile to start their game.

"What?" Korra pressed on and Asami took a deep breath.

"Nothing," Asami said at last. "It's okay. Let's just play."

As soon as Bolin and Opal had returned with the kids - yes, you could indeed see Aang Memorial Island from up there - the group decided to call it a day and head back home to Republic City. It had been a long day and Pema and Korra's parents had promised to prepare a big family dinner. Opal was just bending the last items onto Oogi's back, while Bolin undid his work on the benches and tables near the shore. Mako, Asami, and Korra had already packed the Satomobile.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone, but yet another difficult situation presented itself once Mako approached Korra in her wheelchair and wordlessly bent down to pick her up to presumably help her into the car.

Korra rolled backwards and looked up at his confused face. She frowned. "What are you doing?"

Mako looked a bit taken aback and held up his hands defensively. "Sorry, I just thought I could help-"

"I don't need your help with everything." Korra's voice was not even bitter. She could have been talking about the weather. "I can do this myself, you know?"

"Yes, of course," Mako said quickly, still looking like he feared Korra might rip his head off any second. Opal was watching the exchange from afar, knitting her eyebrows.

"I just wish you all would stop acting like I'm too fragile to do anything by myself anymore," Korra mumbled and pushed herself past Mako towards the passenger side of Asami's car.

She opened the door. Maybe on a good day, she was able to lift herself up onto her bed or other surfaces that were on the same level as her wheelchair, but this was Asami's customized sports Satomobile. The engineer had adjusted some features to accommodate Korra's wheelchair in the trunk, but the car was still significantly too low for Korra to seamlessly slip into. That didn't stop her from trying, though. Everyone kept an eye on her, biting their tongues at her trembling arms, and only when it looked like she was about to fall did Mako step in and catch her arm.

"What are you-?" Korra looked up at him, eyes brighter than they'd been all day. "Mako, I told you to leave it alone!"

"Korra, enough."

Everyone's heads snapped around to the source of that sharp voice. Asami's arms were crossed in front of her chest as she glared at the Avatar. Mako wordlessly helped her back into a proper sitting position in her wheelchair.

Korra stared back at Asami, an unreadable expression on her face. Asami sighed. "We know you're not feeling well. That's fair. But it's not an excuse to take that frustration out on us."

Mako exchanged a look with his brother across the hood of the car. Bolin shrugged. They all knew Asami wasn't one to just snap at anybody like that. You really had to earn that kind of response.

"Excuse me?" Korra looked completely taken aback. Her eyes matched Asami's in intensity, hands gripping the armrests of her chair.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," Asami said calmly, jaw tight. She gestured at Mako, who was still awkwardly standing behind Korra, arms crossed. "Mako just wanted to help and you know it. There's no reason to treat him like that."

Everyone's eyes darted back to Korra to see how she would respond. The knuckles on her hands were turning white, her shoulders tense. Asami briefly considered if pushing her like this would potentially trigger the Avatar State and the thought scared her.

Korra took a deep breath, somehow looking like she wanted to cry and full-on yell at Asami at the same time. She ended up doing neither as she mumbled, "I'm sorry, but it wasn't my idea to come out here and pretend like everything is fun and great for a day."

Asami scoffed in disbelief and ran a hand through her dark locks. Korra hugged her arms close to her chest as Pabu appeared at her feet and she watched him rather than looking up at any of her friends.

"You could have just said you didn't want to go," Asami told her, taking a step closer and ignoring the warning glare Mako was shooting her way. "Why didn't you just tell us?"

"Like I had a choice," Korra said bitterly. Asami's eyes narrowed at that.

"We did this for you." Asami closed the distance and came to a halt in front of Korra. The Avatar shrunk in her wheelchair the tiniest bit, her composure beginning to crumble.

"You had a bad week - a bad month - and we thought it might be a welcome distraction to get some fresh air out here," she continued. "We are patient and supportive and we try our very best to make this just a tiny bit easier for you and you still treat us like this. Why?"

Korra was wiping furiously at her reddening eyes by the end of Asami's outburst. Mako hesitantly stepped up and put a hand on Asami's shoulder but she just shook him off and knelt in front of Korra's wheelchair. She put her hands on the armrests, effectively cornering Korra. Their eyes met and the look on her face almost broke Asami.

"This is not working, Korra." Her voice had lost its edge at this point. She gently pried one of Korra's hands away from where it was clutching her own arm. "Just...what is it that we should be doing differently? Please, tell me."

It was heartbreaking to watch Korra's silent sobs. She'd given up on meeting Asami's gaze long ago and was just staring at her lap at this point, completely unresponsive. Asami was torn between leaving her alone and raising her voice again to get at least some reaction out of the Avatar. Just as she was about to open her mouth again, Opal appeared behind the two.

"Come on, give her a minute," she said with a soft smile on her lips.

Asami looked from Opal to Mako, who just shook his head. She sighed and turned to Korra again as the others slowly went back to whatever they were doing before this conversation happened.

"I'm sorry," Asami said quietly, so only Korra could hear her. "Will you please let us help you into the car now?"

Korra looked utterly exhausted. She bit her lip and nodded, still wiping at her cheeks to get rid of the tears.

The journey back home to Air Temple Island was less than ideal. Korra had bounced back from her little meltdown much faster than they'd anticipated, but there was a tension in the air that was hard to ignore. But when confrontations like these are almost a weekly occurrence, you learn not to dwell on them too much. And yet, this felt different. Like Asami had crossed an invisible line by addressing the elephant in the room head-on.

Watching Korra pick aimlessly at the delicious food her mother had made later that evening, Asami wondered when her friend would finally reach her breaking point. Because after everything that had happened over the past month, it still felt like rock bottom was yet to come.


	6. Can't Stay Away

**A/N: I've been sitting on this chapter for many months. Don't know what kept me from posting it because it's been ready to go for ages but I hope you'll still give it a shot. It's longer than the previous chapters too so I hope that sorta makes up for it. ****Heard the US is getting TLOK on Netflix next week so that gave me the final push to finally finish this fic now. I also wrote way too much so I have another chapter that I'll upload next week to celebrate the Netflix drop. That'll conclude this fic.**

**I also edited the first five chapters a little - nothing crazy, just typos and a couple stylistic and wording choices. So in case you need to read those chapters again, they got a few subtle updates.**

**Thanks for the continued interest in this fic. The occasional reviews kept pushing me to finally upload this.**

**\- D**

* * *

After their disastrous trip to the mountains, Team Avatar was forced to spend some time apart. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Republic City's officials kept requesting Asami's assistance, Mako was pulled into extra shifts at the police station, and Bolin focused all of his attention on figuring out his next career steps. Either way, busy schedules stood in the way of Team Avatar visiting Korra on Air Temple Island for the time being.

But no matter how busy things were getting, the friends had still decided to make an effort and at least go out to grab lunch together as often as possible. Dressed in her business attire that was decidedly too fancy for Narook's, Asami was waiting at a table inside the restaurant. She'd come straight from a meeting with a new investor and didn't really have time for this social outing today but she'd promised to make it and wouldn't miss it for the world. Sometimes, being a good friend was more important than being a good CEO. However, that mentality didn't stop Asami from checking her watch way more frequently than she should. After the fifth time, she placed a hand over her wrist and tried to fight the urge to find out how many seconds had passed since the last time she checked. Needless to say, the others were running late. Probably justified with the difficult task of maneuvering Korra around the city in her wheelchair but that thought didn't exactly help Asami's stress levels.

Korra. Things with her were still not great, to put it mildly. Asami knew people were getting more and more antsy about the future of their Avatar with each passing day. It was shocking just how frequently she got asked about health updates by her employees and business partners. People knew vague details about her condition and seemed both incredibly curious and concerned. Some days, Asami felt like punching the next person who'd bring up the stupid Avatar Cycle in her presence. It just didn't sit right with her to casually discuss Korra's life like that. But no matter how everyone dealt with it individually, the gravity of the situation weighed heavily on them all - close friends and people around the world.

"Asami!"

The young engineer looked up and smiled brightly as Bolin hurriedly pulled Opal towards her table, Mako trailing behind them. Her smile faltered quickly when she noticed a crucial detail.

"Where's Korra?"

Mako and Bolin exchanged an uneasy look as they got settled. Opal sighed and met Asami's eyes.

"Tenzin thought it was best for her to stay at Air Temple Island," she told her.

"Why?" Asami pushed, already feeling an unexpected wave of anger rise up in her chest at the way the airbending master continued to dictate the simplest of things in Korra's life these days. He'd always been a bit intense in that regard but Korra's current predicament wasn't making things any easier.

"She's not feeling well, so they're concerned a trip to the city might be a bit much for her," Mako explained solemnly.

Asami nodded and let that sink in as they all ordered their food. She knew about Korra's low energy levels, had dropped by for a brief visit two days ago after work. She already blamed herself for taking the Avatar on a day trip with no regard to the fact that she was still recovering from the trauma the Red Lotus put her through. Good intentions or not, it hadn't been the smartest move by any means. Thinking back on it, it was a small miracle that Tenzin had not intervened then.

On top of those worries, Asami still felt guilty for being a bit harsh on her friend that day. The last thing Korra needed was even more pressure from those who were supposed to have her back at all times.

It was this uncomfortable realization that pushed Asami to make the trip to Air Temple Island once again later that day after yet another string of business meetings. The rest of Team Avatar was still in the city. Bolin had mentioned some sort of "brotherly bonding time" tonight. Whatever that meant. All she knew was that Opal had agreed to watch Pabu while Bolin was gone and had been instructed to call Beifong if the brothers weren't home by midnight.

Asami left her boat at the docks and was soon sitting in one of the dining rooms with Korra's parents, a cup of steaming hot jasmine tea in front of her. They'd told her Korra was still in the middle of her second healing session of the day and so she'd decided to wait with her parents. She'd gotten to know them a little bit over the course of the last few weeks and quite enjoyed their company.

"I don't mean to sound rude," Asami said, looking at Senna and Tonraq across the table, "but I was wondering how long you were planning on staying in Republic City. I'm sure your people need their chief."

The two exchanged a meaningful look. Tonraq sighed.

"You're right," he said. "I do need to return as soon as possible. We did not think we would stay here for so many weeks."

"I understand," Asami sad slowly, raising her cup to her lips. "It must be hard to make that call."

Senna nodded. "In fact, Tonraq is going to take a ship back to the Southern Water Tribe in just a few days."

Tonraq looked anything but happy about that but the hardened muscles in his jaw made Asami hesitant to ask any further questions about it.

"If only Korra would come to her senses and see that she should come with us," he mumbled under his breath.

Senna laid a delicate hand on his arm.

"If she wants to stay here, we can't force her," she told him.

But Tonraq shook his head.

"No, she should come home and see Katara," he said grumpily.

Asami got the feeling this was hardly the first time they'd discussed this. She studied the two of them, wondering if Tonraq had a point.

Senna removed her hand from her husband's arm, a sad smile on her face. "There's no guarantee that Katara can heal her, Tonraq."

Asami watched this strong, powerful man visibly deflate at his wife's soft words. She wondered whether she should excuse herself but it would feel rude to just leave, no matter how out of place she felt discussing Korra's future with them. Truth be told, the mere thought of Korra leaving Republic City for a while was a terrifying one and she was tempted to give them all the reasons why Korra was better off here on Air Temple Island than at home at the South Pole.

The conversation soon shifted to lighter topics but the sadness and worry in their faces remained. A permanent feature this past month, really.

By the time Asami had finished her second cup of tea, Pema walked into the room with Rohan in her arms.

"Asami," she said in surprise, a smile on her face. "I didn't expect you to visit again so soon. I know how busy you are, my dear."

Senna's eyes lit up at the sight of little Rohan and she soon took the baby from his mother. The little guy babbled happily in her lap and Pema smiled fondly at her son's love for all people. It was no secret that he loved to be held by just about anybody.

"I was hoping to talk to Korra," Asami replied. "Opal told me she wasn't feeling well today."

Pema's smile slipped momentarily before she recovered, maybe a little too quickly.

"I'm sure she'd be happy to see you," she said, reaching out to run her fingers through Rohan's soft patch of hair. "But I'm afraid you'll have to come back tomorrow. Kya just told me Korra was exhausted after her treatment and needed to rest."

Asami frowned. "Is she in her room?"

Somehow, no one protested when Asami decided to check on her anyway. That's how she ended up sitting in Korra's dimly lit room after saying her goodbyes to Korra's parents. She really shouldn't be here, she concluded after just a few moments. It was not wise to spend her evening watching her friend sleep when there were mountains of paperwork waiting for her at her office and growing by the minute. Asami's poor assistant was dealing with that while his boss was just sitting around doing nothing, face in her hands.

But Asami stayed. Her eyes wandered around the room more times than she could count but they always landed back on the Avatar's sleeping form. There was a hypnotic element to the way her chest was slowly rising and falling in a steady rhythm and Asami soon found her mind drifting away. She'd been in this position before, just weeks ago in a hospital room. Only back then, no one was sure what would happen when Korra finally woke up - or if she would wake up.

_"This is so weird," Bolin whispered, staring at their unconscious friend as the rest of Team Avatar was gathered around her bed. "Anyone else feeling the weirdness?"_

_"Bro…" Mako gave his brother a look._

_ Bolin raised his hands in defense._

_"We are just watching her sleep," he deadpanned. "That is the definition of weird, Mako."_

_Mako sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I guess, but could you just –"_

_"Guys." Opal shot both of them a sharp look and gestured to Korra's sleeping form. "Time and place."_

_"Fine," Bolin mumbled to himself, crossing his arms. "It's still weird."_

_His expression softened, though, as he glanced back down at his friend. The Avatar's chest was steadily rising and falling as she rested against her pillow, facial features entirely relaxed. Most of the superficial bruises and cuts she'd been covered in from the night before had vanished or at least faded significantly - all thanks to the skilled healers who had worked their magic as soon as they'd arrived back in Republic City in the early morning hours._

_After another minute of increasingly awkward silence, the four friends decided to take a seat on the soft couches in the corner of the cozy little patient room. They were still close enough to Korra in case she woke up but at least they were able to talk a bit more freely here. Of course, the silence didn't last for long._

_"I still can't believe this all happened," Bolin mumbled, inching closer to Opal and putting an arm around her. "Has anyone heard from Tenzin yet?"_

_They all shook their heads. The latest was that he and his siblings would make a full recovery but all three were still around here at Republic City's Medical Center. They had no idea when it was okay to leave Korra and look for the others. It'd been a long day after an even longer sleepless night on an airship._

_"We should find Pema and see if she needs help with the kids," Opal chimed in. "They seemed pretty shaken up."_

_"They'll want to see Korra," Mako muttered. "I don't think that's a good idea just yet."_

_Asami exchanged a look with him, nodding._

_A beat. Then-_

_"Did you guys see what Zaheer did with that ball of air during the fight?" Bolin asked no one in particular. "Around Korra's head?"_

_Mako nodded, his jaw clenched. "He tried to suffocate her. I've never seen anything like it."_

_"The air nation represents the exact opposite of what we saw yesterday," Opal crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head in disbelief._

_Asami stared at one of the scenery paintings on the wall across from them and bit her lip._

_"I've heard rumors about reports of the Earth Queen's death," she breathed, rubbing small patterns with her thumb on the back of her other hand. "Similar technique."_

_It took a couple of seconds for her statement to sink in. Only Mako seemed unfazed._

_"Beifong mentioned something like that, too," he muttered. "It's awful. Not even the Earth Queen deserved that kind of death."_

_"Who died?"_

_Their heads snapped around towards Korra's bed. Sure enough, there was their friend looking at them through heavily hooded eyes, confusion evident on her face. Her iris's brilliant blue seemed rather dull in the artificial light of the room. It took all of them a second to unfreeze._

_"No one died!" Bolin reached the bed first, closely followed by the rest of them. "Korra, you scared us! Don't ever do that again, okay?"_

_His loud voice made Korra visibly flinch. She shifted in her bed and tried to sit up a little straighter but failed miserably._

_"Let her breathe for a second, Bo." Opal rested a hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly up at him._

_None of them could help smiling. Korra was awake at last._

_"How are you feeling?" Asami asked quickly, reaching out to wrap her hand around Korra's wrist._

_"Um, I don't know." Korra met her gaze and seemed to ponder the question, squeezing her eyes shut again. "Tired."_

_"Well, that's to be expected," Mako chimed in. "You should take all the time you need to rest."_

_Korra just nodded vaguely, seemingly unable to give him any proper response._

_"Yes, but I'm sure you'll be back to kicking the bad guys' butts in no time," Bolin tried his best to pour as much measured enthusiasm into his voice as possible - to no avail._

_Korra peeked up at him through one eye, giving him a faint smile. Bolin's smile, in turn, resembled a grimace more than anything else._

_Asami exchanged a worried glance with Opal. __As quickly as Korra had woken up, she was so physically exhausted that she looked close to passing out again after the brief exchange with her friends. It was amazing how they could almost watch the energy draining out of her battered body. Maybe they should get a healer in here. Maybe that should have been their first thought. And maybe-_

_"And she's gone," Mako mumbled._

_Sure enough, Korra's face was relaxed again, fast asleep._

_"I don't like this," Opal said. "We should-"_

Incoherent whimpering suddenly pulled Asami away from the hospital room and right back into the present moment, sending a jolt of electricity down her spine. It took her several seconds to refocus her eyes but when they did, she jumped up from her position on the chair immediately and approached Korra's bed. The Avatar was twisting and turning in her sleep, beads of sweat glistening on her entire face, her exposed shoulders. Part of Asami wondered how she was capable of such movement when unconscious but never when she was awake.

Asami's hands hovered over Korra, uncertain of what the smartest move would be, and her eyes involuntarily wandered to her friend's legs. Perfectly still, save for some minor jerks caused by the spasms in her upper body. It wasn't until Korra hit Asami's thigh with one arm that she realized she should probably do something.

"Korra, it's just a dream." Asami's voice was low and gentle, careful not to add to the Avatar's evident distress. "Wake up, please."

It wasn't the first time Asami was around for one of Korra's nightmares. But it was the first time she had to deal with it on her own and of course it seemed to be a particularly nasty one. She cursed herself for not bringing Senna or Pema along. They always handled situations like these with such grace and motherly calm. She had no idea how they did it. Even Bolin had helped Korra through the aftermath of a nightmare in the first week of her recovery and it had been amazing to watch. But he wasn't here either. It was just her.

But this nagging voice of self doubt was effectively silenced once Asami saw the deep frown on her friend's face, every muscle she could control tense. Swallowing any remaining fear of doing the wrong thing, Asami steeled her nerves and grabbed Korra's shoulders with both hands.

"Korra," she said, louder this time. "It's just a bad dream. You're safe, I promise. Just-"

Blue eyes suddenly fluttered wide open, unfocused. Her pupils were darting back and forth with such speed, frantic and disturbing, until they suddenly settled on Asami's face.

"Hey, it's-"

But Asami's words got stuck in throat as Korra wrapped her hands around her forearms and pushed her off of her with all her might - which wasn't much in her current state but it was still surprising enough to make Asami lose her balance. She caught herself at the last second, leaning on the mattress. Big mistake.

Korra's eyes widened as she frantically pushed herself into a sitting position with one arm, the other back around one of Asami's wrists. She looked like she wanted to scream but no words escaped her opened mouth as she stared at Asami, breathing heavily.

"It's just me," Asami tried again, heart beating out of her ribcage. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Without thinking things through, she freed herself from Korra's grip and reached for a strand of the Avatar's hair that was plastered onto her forehead. Within fractions of a second, Asami found herself looking up at Korra from her new position on the floor. She had no idea how Korra had mustered the strength to fully fling her off of her. She didn't have a lot of time to process it, though.

"Leave me alone!"

All she could do was watch one of her closest friends, perhaps the most important person in her life at that point, hyperventilate right in front of her for a few horrible seconds. Her wild eyes scared her. Korra was fully awake but still didn't seem to recognize her. Asami glanced towards the door, wondering if someone would hear her if she called for help. But then she pushed herself up on her feet and stood a few feet away from the bed, keeping a safe distance from Korra.

"I'm not here to hurt you," she said carefully. "Korra, it's just me, Asami."

She could pinpoint the exact moment the realization dawned on Korra, when it finally clicked. She was still panting, sweat glistening on every inch of her exposed skin. Slowly, her expression changed as she fixed Asami with widened eyes. Only it didn't change for the better.

"What is wrong with you?" she exclaimed, running a hand through her damp hair. "What are you doing here, Asami?"

Asami's jaw dropped. Surely, Korra was still confused.

"Excuse me?" she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I was just trying to help. I didn't do-"

But Korra wasn't even listening.

"You just can't stay away, can you?" She looked about ready to jump out of bed and fight her - except she couldn't. The realization seemed to hit both girls at the same time. Instead, Korra just looked at Asami with glassy eyes. "Why do you stick around when I all I want is for everyone to leave me alone? Why bother at all?"

Asami's head was spinning. She'd seen Korra snap at her friends and family before. The healers. Many times, in fact. But not once had she ever spoken to _her_ like that. She would never. Asami studied the Avatar for a moment, tried to gauge where this was coming from. Because it sure wasn't the Korra she knew. She tried to rationalize it all, reasoned with herself that she'd not acted wisely, had woken her from a nightmare and shouldn't have expected anything less than an upset Avatar.

"Why, Asami?" Korra repeated, even louder this time.

There were tears glistening in the corner of her eyes but she still looked absolutely livid.

Asami wasn't sure what answer she was looking for. She took in Korra's disheveled expression and walked back towards the bed but resisted the urge to sit down and cradle Korra in her arms to let her cry herself to sleep. They'd done that before a couple times. But Asami couldn't do it tonight. She didn't think Korra would appreciate even the suggestion, to be honest.

"I'm sorry for waking you like that," she said instead, keeping her voice steady. "I just came here to check in and ask how you're feeling. I also wanted to apologize for the way I spoke to you on our last trip."

Guilt flashed across Korra's face almost instantly. Her features softened. She'd always been bad at hiding her emotions but she truly wore her heart on her sleeve these days. Asami could read her like an open book but right now, that didn't make this any easier.

"I shouldn't have stayed, I'm sorry," Asami added when Korra didn't say anything in response. "Goodnight, Korra."

With that, she turned to leave, feeling beyond disheartened by this whole thing. She half-expected Korra to call her name and ask her to stay or apologize or just say anything at all. But she didn't. She let Asami leave. As she walked through the dark corridors, Asami could swear she heard sniffles. She paused, straining her ears. Maybe she'd just imagined it but the mental image of Korra crying broke her heart. She almost turned back around, wanted nothing more than to check on her and maybe start over. But the rational part of her brain told her they were done for the day. Before she could convince herself otherwise, Asami continued walking in the opposite direction of where her feet wanted to carry her, putting more and more distance between her and Korra.


	7. I'll Miss You

**A/N: Aaaaand that's it for this fic. Happy I finally finished it. Thanks for sticking around and reading this mess. And guess I even managed to squeeze in an OC in this last chapter which I never do. Surprised myself there.**

**This fic was always meant to cover missing Korrasami moments between the immediate aftermath of the fight with Zaheer and Korra boarding the ship to the Southern Water Tribe because I have so many headcanons about that time. I left a few more comments on this at the end, just for context.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this last chapter. Technically, we're celebrating that Netflix US added TLOK today but I can't say I've been enjoying the Twitter debates about Korra and Aang these last few months so I hope we'll all get through that aspect of it :D Still happy for y'all. I'll have to stick to my DVDs for now :(**

**-D**

* * *

Oh, how Asami missed her workshop.

Surrounded by mountains of paperwork in her office, Asami wondered if she could maybe squeeze just an hour of practical work into her day. She understood the business side of things, knew these contracts needed to be approved by her as soon as possible, was aware of the documents she had to read for a couple new clients, the reports from her staff - she knew all of that and took her position seriously. A lot of people's lives depended on her work ethic, at the end of the day. But sometimes her job still drained her to the point where she longed for the serene comfort of her workshop. Just a girl and her tools, channeling her energy into something tangible that she could tinker with until it was near perfect. It had been way too long since she'd been able to focus on new designs and ideas for her own damn company. Between the looming threat of the Red Lotus and Korra's health battle afterwards, there hadn't been enough time for her favorite kind of work despite her best efforts.

She sighed, dropped the piece of paper she's been staring at for the past ten minutes, and looked up. It had been a great idea to install a large window front for her office. She had a perfect view of Republic City beneath her, including the bay area. Seeing Avatar Aang's statue in the distance, the same spot it had always been for as long as she could remember, had a comforting familiarity to it. Anchoring, even. But it didn't help her one bit when her gaze inevitably wandered towards the small, equally familiar island to its right.

Asami shook her head and got up from her chair. Pacing was not something she was known for but sometimes, in times like these, there was just too much going on to be perfectly still and composed. In the privacy of her office, it was okay to crack a little bit under the pressure. At least, that's what she told herself. Bend but not break - that was the way she tried to look at it. It was in moments like these that she realized how strong her father had been. It takes a special kind of strength to run a company of this caliber and not lose yourself along the way. Well, that last part was where Asami was determined not to follow her father's footsteps.

She didn't even realize she was coming to a halt by the windows, once again studying the tiny buildings of Air Temple Island. Perhaps these windows were a blessing and a curse in one. Biting her lip, Asami considered calling Tenzin to get an update. Just as quickly, she dropped the idea again. She hadn't talked to anyone but Mako and Bolin during the couple of days since her last visit to Air Temple Island. Things with Korra hadn't exactly gone smoothly that night, to say the least. Asami didn't know how to approach the situation, to be perfectly honest. All she knew was that she had to reach out to Korra again rather sooner than later. And then again, she also thought it shouldn't be a one-way street. She knew Korra cared about her and their friendship and she also knew she was hurting, but there had to be some kind of effort. Asami wouldn't give up on her but that didn't mean she wasn't a little lost these days.

"Asami?"

Her head snapped around towards the source of the voice. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked into the concerned face of her assistant, Kuni. He was balancing a stack of folders in his arms, struggling not to drop any of them. He was an older man with a big smile and his signature round glasses on top of his long nose. His mouth and eyes were framed by prominent laugh lines, making him look even older than he was. Along with the entire company, Asami had also inherited Kuni. He'd been Hiroshi's right hand in the background for years and made life significantly easier for the young CEO since she took over from her father.

"Here, let me help you," Asami offered and hurried over to take the folders out of Kuni's shaky arms.

The man smiled. "Thank you."

"Anything I can do for you?" Asami asked, turning around to add the folders to the mess on her desk. She opened one and fought the annoyance bubbling up in her chest at the thought of having to read through all of these documents by the end of the day.

Kuni adjusted the glasses atop his nose, his smile dropping.

"I'm just here to let you know I received a call from Air Temple Island," he said. "Master Tenzin would like to invite you to dinner tonight."

Asami looked up from the folder in her hands and frowned. "What's the occasion?"

It was unusual for Tenzin to randomly invite Asami to family dinners in such an official way, going through their assistants. Besides, it wasn't like Asami needed a formal invitation.

Kuni shook his head. "He did not say but it did sound like it was important to him. Perhaps he wants to discuss a business matter with you."

That was always a possibility, given their occasional casual chats about city planning and administrative troubles with government officials. Some things were easier to discuss in an informal setting. But Tenzin usually stopped by her office for those occasions. Maybe it was a bigger issue this time.

"Well, tell him I'll be there," Asami said, running a hand through her hair. "I can come back afterwards and finish up in here."

Kuni frowned.

"Future Industries is not going to burn to the ground if you take the evening off," he suggested carefully.

Asami shook her head. "No, but we're already behind on last week's shipments and I want to make sure we get at least one new prototype for the new Satomobile engine up and running by tomorrow night. Can't do that if I don't go over the blueprints today."

Kuni smiled warmly. "I already took the liberty of rescheduling some of your meetings for tomorrow to make up for lost time."

They exchanged a look. Kuni had known her since she was born. There was a fatherly quality to the way he often let Asami know when she was on the verge of working herself to death without realizing it. Now seemed to be one of those times because only in the rarest of circumstances would Kuni interfere with Asami's plans. He was also the only person in this entire company that could get away with the occasional pushing of boundaries like rescheduling her work that way.

So, knowing Kuni's intentions and commitment to both Asami and Future Industries, she saved her breath and chose not to argue against it. If she sat down now and forgot about wounded Avatars and their traumatic past and uncertain future, she could maybe get enough work done anyway.

"Thank you, Kuni," she said at last and soon watched him leave her office with a sly smile on his face.

Asami decided that she had no time to worry about the dinner or seeing Korra as she lowered herself back into her chair. The mountain of folders and documents loomed over her but at least this was something she knew how to tackle. She steeled her mind and made use of years of practice of compartmentalizing. This was going to be a long day.

Despite all the stress, it felt like only a few minutes passed until Asami was sitting at the dining table between Bolin and Mako after a delicious dinner. She may or may not have spontaneously convinced the brothers to accompany her to Air Temple Island when Mako had shown up at Future Industries to return a box of tools he'd needed for...she didn't really know. Something about an incident in his apartment that he seemed weirdly embarrassed about. Sometimes it was better not to ask too many questions, Asami had decided.

Korra was sitting across from them, between her parents. She'd been quiet all evening, save for a few comments or compliments on Pema's cooking skills. She also wouldn't meet her friends' eyes. Asami could feel the anxiety radiating off her friend across the table. Something was not right. As if Tonraq could read Asami's mind, he cleared his throat and waited until he had everyone's attention.

"We were going to tell you kids in the morning but since you are all here tonight," he said, looking at each of them across the table and then exchanged a meaningful look with Korra.

Korra swallowed hard but didn't say anything. Tonraq sighed.

"We're leaving tomorrow afternoon," he announced.

"What?" Mako asked.

Bolin frowned. "Like, going back to the South Pole?"

Tonraq nodded. "Our people need me."

Bolin seemed satisfied with that answer and picked up his chopsticks again. But Mako didn't keep his eyes off Korra. "You're leaving with them, aren't you?"

Korra met his gaze and nodded. "Yes."

Senna placed an arm around her shoulders. Asami couldn't believe what she was hearing. Bolin had dropped his chopsticks again, looking like a confused puppy.

"Wait, what?" he asked no one in particular.

"You can't be serious." Asami raised an eyebrow, stared directly at Korra. "I thought you said you didn't want to go back. What changed?"

She didn't mean for it to sound so harsh but she couldn't help it. Mako just nodded, like Asami had just voiced his thoughts, too.

Korra just bit her lip and just stared at Asami so Tenzin answered for her.

"We agreed that it might be best for Korra to step back from the public and continue her recovery at the Southern Water Tribe, with her family," he said. "I also spoke to my mother who is arguably the best healer in the world. She might be able to help Korra."

"It'll be good to go home," Pema added. "You haven't been home in so long. Right, sweetie?"

They all watched as Korra mustered a smile and nodded. "I hope so."

"We're gonna miss you," Bolin said, his voice soft and earnest. "I'm sure Katara will know what to do and you'll be back in no time. You do want to come back, right?"

Of course, Bolin would manage to produce the perfect response to the news. Korra smiled - genuinely this time - at the hint of fear in his voice.

"Of course, I'll be back," she reassured him. "Just taking a little break."

Bolin beamed. "Awesome! Can I plan a welcome back party? I've always wanted to do that."

They didn't dwell on the topic of Korra leaving too much. It was obvious that none of them were particularly thrilled to lose their friend in such a difficult time but with Tenzin's reasoning and Tonraq's insistence, there was little room to argue. The friends learned that they had already talked to the airbender children about this. The kids had left to play by the time Tonraq brought it up at dinner because no one was keen on arguing with Meelo about this for a second time. Nevertheless, all adults seemed to consider this the best option for Korra's recovery, Katara being the key factor. There was, of course, some truth to it. But Asami felt like Tenzin's hopeful words sounded more and more like he was trying to convince himself that his mother had the ability to restore the damage inflicted upon Korra's body. No one seemed particularly concerned with what this had done to Korra's mind.

They spent a couple of hours together, enjoying the time they had left with Korra and her family. Kya told them she would accompany them, too, to return home to her mother. That made Asami feel a little better. Korra trusted Kya, sometimes confided in her. But there was an air of sadness that hung around the group for the rest of the evening, no one happy about the prospect of splitting up Team Avatar after an intense few months together. The brothers and Asami decided to stick around after helping to clear the table and clean the dishes.

The children had reappeared and were dragging Bolin and Asami towards one of the Pai-Sho tables, when Korra locked eyes with Asami across the room and gave her a meaningful nod towards the door. Asami got the hint and placed a gentle hand on Ikki's shoulder.

"I'll join you guys in a second, okay?" she told the child. Before Ikki could protest, Asami added, "I'm sure Mako would love to watch your new air scooter trick, though. You haven't shown him yet, have you?"

And with that, Ikki grabbed Meelo's hand and dragged him off towards Mako. Smiling, Asami turned back towards Korra and felt her nerves return. Her smile dropped as she made her way over to the Avatar, who was waiting patiently in her wheelchair by the door.

"Do you have a minute?" Korra asked. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Of course."

Asami held the door open and pushed Korra outside into the cool evening air and away from their friends and family. Without really thinking about it, she steered clear of the last spot the two of them visited late at night and instead led them towards the training grounds. She stopped near the steps and took a seat on the stone, still warm from the now setting sun. Then she waited.

"I owe you a couple of apologies, I think," Korra said at last, breaking the silence that had settled around them. "First of all, I'm sorry for ruining our trip. I know you meant well and I couldn't even appreciate it."

Asami looked at her, taking in the sparkle in Korra's eyes and sincerity in her voice. She shook her head.

"It's okay." She smiled. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry, too."

Korra frowned. Then she sighed and looked down at her lap.

"I'm also sorry for what happened last time you visited. I..." Korra struggled to find the right words. "I was just so angry and scared and you were there and - I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve any of that. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

Their eyes met, Asami smiled reassuringly.

"I understand." She placed a hand on Korra's knee. "You're gonna get through this, Korra."

The Avatar looked at her hand and sighed. "I don't deserve your kindness but it means a lot. I don't know how you're so patient. All of you."

"We have each other's backs, remember?"

They exchanged a smile.

"Can I ask you something?"

Korra nodded. Asami smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"Tenzin seemed rather confused when I thanked him for inviting us over tonight," she started, watching Korra's face closely. "I swear my assistant never gets these things wrong. You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?"

Korra let out a nervous but genuine laugh. It was nice to hear.

"I didn't think you'd bring that up to him," she mumbled. "I told Tenzin you'd join us for dinner maybe an hour before you showed up with the boys."

Now it was Asami's turn to laugh. Korra grinned.

"Kuni is a good man for pulling that off," she said. "You should give him a raise."

"You could have just asked me yourself, you know?" Asami said. "Why corrupt my assistant?"

Korra bit her lip. The smile she'd just worn was gone in an instant.

"I wasn't sure you'd want to come here after I yelled at you," she admitted. "I was afraid I'd ruined everything."

Asami nodded, lips forming a thin line. She hated the guilt in Korra's voice.

"You didn't." She paused for a moment. "Do you really think that leaving Republic City is what you need?"

Korra shifted uncomfortably in her wheelchair and kept her eyes trained on Asami's hand that was still resting atop her leg.

"I don't know what I need," she sighed. "But I don't think it matters where I am. No one can fix me. So, I might as well do what makes my parents more comfortable."

"Don't say that," Asami chided. "There has to be a way. Katara-"

"Tenzin doesn't really think she can heal me either," Korra cut her off. She bit her lip. "I...I heard him talk to Pema a few days ago."

Asami raised a fine eyebrow. "What did he say?"

It took Korra a moment to answer. She got a distant look in her eyes, just staring out at the bay.

"He...I think Tenzin overestimates Katara's powers," she finally mumbled. "Katara told him she's not sure she can do anything. That's what he told Pema. I'm not sure I even want to see her."

She whispered that last part and if they hadn't been sitting so close together, Asami surey would have missed it. She frowned and studied Korra for a moment. There was an edge to Korra's voice that she had a hard time deciphering.

"Why not?" she prompted.

Korra shook her head and didn't answer. Asami sighed, noting the tears glistening in her friend's eyes but it seemed like Korra was determined to ignore them. It had been a while since Asami had seen her have the energy to be this stubborn, she noted in the back of her mind.

"You don't want to find out for sure if she can't heal you," Asami guessed.

Korra turned her head to look at her. A tear rolled down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand, jaw hardened.

"You don't understand," she said, voice tight. "It's not just my legs. It's...it's complicated. I can't even feel Raava anymore. There's just...nothing. Just pain."

Asami had a hard time finding the right words at that news. She tried anyway.

"Katara is the closest we have to an Avatar expert," she said after a moment. "Don't give up yet, Korra. There has to be a way to get back to bending and Katara might be able to help. If you really want to leave and go home then give it a try and see her. What do you have to lose?"

The moment she said it, she regretted it. Korra had lost everything, including any ounce of hope. At least for now. It was cruel to remind her of that. But Korra just shook her head, another stray tear rolling down her cheek. This time, she didn't even seem to notice.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Asami blurted out, without really thinking about it. There just had to be something she could do to help fix this. "Maybe Mako and Bolin would want to come, too. Keep you company for a while."

Korra seemed taken aback by the offer. She studied Asami's face for a long moment to the point where Asami averted her eyes and watched the bay instead. After a few more moments, she felt Korra's fingers wrap around her own.

"You belong in Republic City," she said quietly, "and you know it."

Asami met her gaze. "So do you and we both know that."

A heavy silence settled over them again. They both withdrew their hands. Korra stared out across the bay to the bright lights of the city she'd called home for a while now. She'd gone through so much here, had made real friends. People she'd give her life for and who would do the same for her in a heartbeat. And yet, Asami saw in that moment just how overwhelmed her friend was. Korra looked so tired and she couldn't blame her. She also knew Korra wouldn't change her mind about leaving.

"I'll miss you," Asami whispered at last.

Korra took a deep breath, closed her reddened eyes for a moment. When she blinked them open again, they looked sadder than Asami had ever seen them. Just a dull blue, the city lights faintly reflected in them. Korra smiled sadly and opened her arms, a silent invitation that Asami took without thinking twice about it. She bent down to wrap Korra in a hug as best as she could from the awkward angle.

Korra squeezed her shoulders.

"I'll miss you, too."

* * *

**A/N: Like I said in the first note, I wanted this to conclude right before Korra leaves for the South Pole again. I hope I didn't get any of the details wrong but I never know. Let me know if I messed up.**

**I really enjoyed exploring the ups and downs of their relationship throughout this initial recovery phase that ultimately strengthened their bond and left them on good terms before Korra left. Well, and left Korra confused about her feelings for Asami, of course. Hope they were not too OOC but yeah. This is roughly what I imagine happened between them.**

**Again - thanks for reading and commenting and stuff! I do appreciate it a lot. :)**


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